Ready to have more energy, less inflammation, and way more GLOW? Okay, you’re ripe and ready for my “Get Your Greens” Challenge 2017. This is the year when you are going to try to get as many greens as you can into your diet.
Greens are the healthiest food on the planet. They are full of chlorophyll (the pigment that makes them green), helps to balance hormones, clot blood/wound healing (so ask your doc if you are on blood thinners), detoxifies your blood, helps with digestive disorders, and may greatly help inflammatory conditions such as fibromyalgia and arthritis. Dark leafy greens are also full of fiber, which I believe is America’s forgotten nutrient.
The optimum amount of dark leafy greens? One pound daily. So this is your challenge ladies and gents:
EAT OR DRINK ONE POUND OF DARK LEAFY GREENS PER DAY FOR 5 DAYS
1 pound of dark leafy greens = 6 cups of packed greens
And if you feeling freaking AMAZING after the challenge, carry this new habit into the New Year. Why not commit to a green smoothie every single morning?
Now, how to get this amount of greens into your system? It’s better to eat them raw, and so that’s a lot of greens to munch on. I happen to love huge salads of leaves, but many don’t, so I think the most effective way to get them down is to make a gigantic smoothie. When I say “gigantic”, I am talking about 64 ounces of gorgeous green liquid! Get my basic Greens Challenge Smoothie recipe here.
Here’s the big bonus: When you drink my smoothie in the amount that I am recommending, you will be VERY full. You’ll be so full that you probably won’t be able to manage breakfast, or even lunch! So if you need or want to shed a few of those Holiday season pounds, this is the way to go.
Here’s what I recommend, make your smoothies a day ahead. Try to drink the 64 ounces throughout the day, from breakfast to late afternoon. Then, have a lovely healthy dinner. For the 5-day challenge, I recommend a plant-based dinner so that you’ll get the full benefit. Check out my recipes for ideas, and if you’re strapped for time (but NOT for cash!), you might even consider a few day’s of my favorite meal delivery service, Sakara. It’s plant-based, organic, and beyond delicious. They have a Total Body Reset, which I wish everyone could do. But if you’re on a budget, there’s nothing stopping you from making your gorgeous, simple dishes.
So, to re-cap: You’re making a giant smoothie using 4-6 cups of dark leafy greens. If you only want to use 4 cups in this smoothie (cos 6 is a lot), toss the remaining 2 cups into a soup, or whip up a crunchy salad with apples, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and a yummy dressing. This challenge shouldn’t be a chore. It should be a pleasure, and make you feel ALIVE!
Oh, and there’s no one telling you that you can’t have a square or two of sugar-free dark chocolate to help the medicine go down…I do!
